Leigh and Atherton (UK Parliament constituency)

Leigh and Atherton
Borough constituency
for the House of Commons
Map of constituency
Boundary of Leigh and Atherton in North West England
CountyGreater Manchester
Electorate76,363 (2023)[1]
Major settlementsLeigh, Atherton
Current constituency
Created2024
Member of ParliamentJo Platt (Labour Co-op)
SeatsOne
Created fromLeigh & Bolton West

Leigh and Atherton is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament.[2] Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was first contested at the 2024 general election.[3] Since 2024, it has been represented by Labour's Jo Platt, who had been MP for the predecessor seat of Leigh from 2017 to 2019.

Constituency profile

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Electoral Calculus categorises the news seat as being part of the “Somewheres” demographic, those who have socially conservative views and economically soft left views alongside strong support for Brexit. For reference, the site gives a notional result of 65% for those who voted for Brexit back in 2016. In addition to this, around 54% of the constituency is deprived, in terms of employment, income and education, which is only slightly higher than the national average of 52% deprivation, according to the site. For general statistics, the average age is 49.8, at least 79% of the local population owns a car, whilst 66% own a home, and the gross household income is £37,112.[4]

Boundaries

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Map
Map of boundaries from 2024

The constituency is defined as comprising the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan as they existed on 1 December 2020:

  • Atherleigh (except part of polling district LCA); Atherton; Golborne and Lowton West; Leigh East; Leigh South; Leigh West (polling districts LDB, LDC, LDD, LDE and LDF); Lowton East; Tyldesley[5]

Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2023,[6][7] the constituency now comprises the following wards of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan from the 2024 general election:

  • Astley (small part); Atherton North; Atherton South & Lilford; Golborne and Lowton West; Leigh Central & Higher Folds; Leigh South; Leigh West (most); Lowton East; Tyldesley & Mosley Common (majority); and a very small part of Hindley Green[4]

The seat covers the bulk of, and replaces, the Leigh constituency, with the town of Atherton being added from Bolton West.[4]

Members of Parliament

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Election Member Party
2024 Jo Platt Labour Co-op

Elections

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Elections in the 2020s

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General election 2024: Leigh and Atherton[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Co-op Jo Platt 19,971 48.5 +5.3
Reform UK George Woodward 11,090 26.9 +21.1
Conservative Michael Winstanley 6,483 15.7 −28.1
Green Amelia Jones 1,653 4.0 +3.7
Liberal Democrats Stuart Thomas 1,597 3.9 −0.7
English Democrat Craig Buckley 376 0.9 N/A
Majority 8,881 21.6 N/A
Turnout 41,170 51.6 −6.4
Registered electors 79,978
Labour Co-op gain from Conservative Swing −7.9

Elections in the 2010s

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2019 notional result[9]
Party Vote %
Conservative 19,410 43.8
Labour 19,117 43.2
Brexit Party 2,572 5.8
Liberal Democrats 2,031 4.6
Others 999 2.2
Green 154 0.3
Turnout 44,283 58.0
Electorate 76,363

References

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  1. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume two: Constituency names, designations and composition – North West". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  2. ^ "Boundaries review: The ancient city of Chester being split in two". BBC News. 8 July 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  3. ^ "The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England – Volume one: Report – North West | Boundary Commission for England". Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Leigh and Atherton: New Boundaries 2023 Calculation". Electoral Calculus. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  5. ^ "The Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023". legislation.gov.uk. Schedule 1 Part 5 North West region.
  6. ^ "Wigan". Local Government Boundary Commission for England. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  7. ^ "The Wigan (Electoral Changes) Order 2022". legislation.gov.uk. 16 December 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  8. ^ "UK General Election - Results 4th July 2024". Wigan Council. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Notional results for a UK general election on 12 December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
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